Hawaii Governor David Ige, a Democrat,
on Friday signed a bill that bans therapies that attempt to alter the
sexual orientation or gender identity of lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender youth.
Such therapies go by names such as
“conversion therapy,” “reparative therapy” or “ex-gay
therapy.”
“Signed SB270, prohibits therapists
from '#conversiontherapy' to patients under 18,” Ige said in a
tweet. “I'm proud to join the 11 other states and send a strong
message to our #LGBT youth: that sexual orientation is not an illness
to be 'cured' – we accept you just the way you are.”
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, cheered the news.
“So-called ‘conversion therapy’
is a dangerous and ?inhumane form of child abuse that has no basis
in science and is ?uniformly rejected by every major mental health
and child welfare ?organization,” HRC President Chad Griffin said
in a statement. “We thank the many advocates, allies, parents and
survivors who spoke out against this abusive practice and urged their
elected officials to adopt these crucial protections.”
Similar legislation has been enacted in
Maryland, Washington, Connecticut, California, Nevada, New Jersey,
Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New York, Rhode Island, New Mexico and the
District of Columbia. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, a
Republican, is expected to sign similar legislation approved by
lawmakers. An increasing number of local municipalities have also
enacted similar protections, particularly in Florida. In March,
Milwaukee
became the first municipality in Wisconsin to enact such a ban.